Help to Impact Lives (HTIL) stage another successful football camp

BARRETT TOWN, St James — Over 120 youngsters from Barrett Town and surrounding areas in St James benefitted from the fifth staging of the week -long Help to Impact Lives (HTIL) football camp staged in the community.

The camp was staged between July 22-26 for children between the ages of six and 14, playing in three different age groups, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14 with skills ranging from beginners to the advanced level.

The camp is the brainchild of Robert Hemmings, a former Cornwall College daCosta Cup football player who is now a computer software programmer residing in North Carolina, USA. He told the Jamaica Observer West that this year's staging of the camp was another success.

"We had an average attendance of over 100 each day," he said "There were no cost to the kids to attend each day and we provided them with uniforms as well as accessories, including a bag and water bottle."

Former national player and head coach Theodore Whitmore and present goalkeeper coach Warren Barrett- both local members of the HTIL board- were among the coaches who turned out during the week to teach the game to the campers.

On the final day of the camp more than 120 pairs of football boots were handed out to the campers who participated in three All-Stars games after which each player got a medal, while MVPs were also named.

Damion Smith, who attends Cornwall College and played on the all-island champion Under 16 team last season, was named the Most Outstanding student/athlete for the fourth straight year.

Since its inception in 2009, the camp has made a significant impact on the youths of the community some of whom have gone on to play as high as the daCosta Cup level, including Javier Palton of Cornwall College who was recently awarded a scholarship to Johnson and Wales university in Florida.

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